Writing Inspired by The Tell-Tale Heart

Ladies and gentlemen of the jury...

Our purpose here today is to persuade you that the client is deranged and incapable of understanding what he’s done. The client reveals his anxiety toward the reader and other characters several times throughout the story. For instance, he begins the story inquiring, "How then am I mad?" and states, "Observe how healthily--how calmly I can tell you the whole story" (Paragraph 1). The client then attempts to prove his sanity when the reader has not yet had the opportunity to make any kind of judgment whatsoever. In addition, the client claims to be so distraught with the old man's evil eye that he has decided to commit murder (Paragraph 2). Perhaps he suspected that the man's eye could see that he really was - a mad man! Only a demented man would consider putting a corpse under floor boards (Paragraph 12) and place his own chair upon the very spot beneath which reposed the dead victim (Paragraph 14). Other signs of paranoia are present when the client states that the policemen were mocking his horror, when in actuality they knew nothing of the crime (Paragraph 17). He experiences self caused hallucinations, when he claims to hear the old man's beating heart. For instance, he states, "the beating grew louder, louder...the sound would be heard by a neighbor" (Paragraph 11). It is physically impossible for a heartbeat to be heard at such lengthy distances. Furthermore, it is absurd for a heartbeat of a dead man to be heard at all. Finally, the client suffers from extreme mood changes. This change in mood is reflected in his speech pattern. As the story opens, he states that he will present himself in a tranquil manner. However, as the story progresses, his sentences become fragmented and repetitious. For instance, as he enters the old man's room, he states, "I undid the lantern cautiously--oh, so cautiously--cautiously --I undid it" (Paragraph 3).